This Debate is for the legalization of cannabis. Although medical cannibis has already been legalized in 16 states, the national government does not recognize this law because of the Supremacy and Commerce Clause in the Constitution. Therefore this debate is about changing the National Law on cannabis distribuition and use.

Note: This is my first time on debate.org please excuse any minor mistakes I might make. But understand that I am looking for an mature and sophisticated debate. I promise I will do my best to have it that way, and I hope you do as well. Thanks!

I'm sorry for the delay. I enjoy a good debate, but I didn't know a lot about
this particular topic, so I needed to research a bit. Good luck to you sir.

Alcohol and cigarettes are both considered to be potentially harmful
drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration. My opponent will
most likely claim that marijuana is no more harmful than these two substances, which
are legal in the U.S. However, these drugs are harmful for very different reasons.
Alcohol and tobacco poison the body; marijuana is a toxin of the mind. Admittedly, during
use, alcohol impairs cognitive function, but those effects are generally short term. Studies
by the National Institute On Drug Abuse have found that marijuana use can lead
to serious mental disorders like schizophrenia.
The Declaration of Independence said "that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." A person absolutely has
the right to pursue happiness by consuming whatever drug they may fancy. The trouble
comes when their happiness is at odds with the betterment of society. Just as a general
rule, people with mental disorders are not as high-functioning as those with
normal brains. As tragic as they are, liver disease and lung cancer don't impair
cognitive function. If a government has an easy way, like making a substance illegal, to ensure that normal human
beings don't develop mental disorders, they owe it to society to maintain the
mental integrity of the populace as best they can. Marijuana should remain illegal for that reason.

You make a compelling argument, but please provide some sort of source for your information. Without a credible source, so called "facts and statistics" mean nothing. Instead, you end up with a page of statements that may or may not be true. For instance, you stated that marijuana is "Less addictive than coffee, never experiencing any withdrawl". The misspelling of withdrawal aside, I'd really like to know where you read this. That is mostly due to the fact that any addictive substance produces withdrawal symptoms in the body when it stops being used. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that 25-50% of daily users become addicted to marijuana and experience irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety and other classic withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop using.
Also, you first statement that "no person has every died from smoking marijuana" is particularly misleading. A study at held by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that "in 2002, nearly 120,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms suffering from marijuana-related problems." So, while certainly the physical use of marijuana isn't all that dangerous, the effects it can have on the brain are. It affects reaction time and coordination, and is a recipe for disaster when mixed with something like driving. Don't try to make marijuana seem harmless. Also, you assertion that smoking marijuana can't cause lung cancer is simply false. The same study revealed that a single joint contains four times more carcinogens than a filtered cigarette.
There is no way to deny that marijuana has harmful effects. Sure, you can play with statistics and say that it is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, but this argument is null and void. None of these substances are good for the human body. A government's only effective way to discourage the use of a substance is to make it illegal, but it comes down to an issue of practicality. In all reality, with all of the destruction they cause, alcohol and tobacco probably shouldn't be legal either, but any attempt to change the status quo would result in an outcry of freedom being taken away as seen during the 20's with prohibition. So, the government has turned to other means, like heavily taxing tobacco and enforcing severe punishment for DUI's in an attempt to curb the effects of these drugs on society. Still, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10,839 people were killed in 2009 due to drunk driving.
The argument is illogical. One harmful substance being legal is not justification to legalize a slightly less harmful substance. Ideally, use of both substances would be inhibited, but our society feels that they have an entitlement to kill themselves with alcohol and tobacco. Why would you want to make a substance whose effects are known to increase the risk of car accidents legal and encourage its use? The annual number of fatal car accidents in the United States has been in the mid thirty-thousands for at least the last seventeen years. Enough people are dying in car accidents without the help of another intoxicating substance.

I have yet to meet the qualifications for voting on a debate but i would put every vote towards Con (besides conduct - thats a tie). He had great references and destroyed Pro's argument with facts and perfect logic and practicality.

Yes alcohol and tobacco are harmful to your body. And yes marijuana can be harmful to brain function and not to mention harmful to your body as well (but still not even close to tobacco). Every year over 400,000 people die from tobacco use and another 100,000 for alcohol related deaths (including drunk driving). To look at how harmful marijuana actually is you must look at the actual statistics and facts.
- No person has every died from smoking marijuana
no overdoses, no lung cancer, black lung, heart attacks etc
- The very small percent of users who ever experience schizophrenia and most often with people who have a family history of shizophrenia
- Although in the Reagan years mandatory research had to been done on marijuana to "prove" that it lowered brain activity and function no such results were ever found in fact in 2001 UCLA stated that smoking marijuana stimulates brain activity
- Less addictive than coffee, never experiencing any withdrawl
- Yes, 97% of teens convicted of possession charges go to rehabilitation centers. But only because the judge gives them the choice of that or juvenile prison. What would you choose?

The people benefiting from the prohibition of marijuana is gangs, pharmacutical companies, and private jails that Texas and Georgia have gotten mandates for to build primarily these types of crimes.

The Unites States tax payers pay over $800,000,000 a year for the incarcation of people who were not hurting anyone and were barely hurting themselves.

Sorry lasalvavida for the forfeit of round 2 on my part. Because of the delay I assumed you had forgotten about the debate and I did not revisit the topic. I will place my "round 2" in a comment box following. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yes it will be taxed and yes the tax will most likely be quite high. But the prices with taxes will still be a fraction than as they are now in the black market. It is estimated that an ounce of marijuana would cost around $50 (including taxes). That is 1/8 of the price on the black market.

Yes it will be taxed and yes the tax will most likely be quite high. But the prices with taxes will still be a fraction than as they are now in the black market. It is estimated that an ounce of marijuana would cost around $50 (including taxes). That is 1/8 of the price on the black market.